Photograph by: Handout photo
, H2O Extreme

Sand devils - plumes of sand created when the wind picks up - are another good sign for Hockley, who lives on Galu Beach, a two-kilometre stretch of soft white sand that's part of Diani Beach on the Indian Ocean, some 25 kilometres south of the coastal city of Mombasa.

Hockley does kitesurfing, an extreme wind and water sport that's rapidly gaining popularity from the Pacific and Indian oceans to the St. Lawrence River. He uses a huge inflatable kite and straps his feet into a small board similar to a water-skiing wakeboard. The kite propels him over the waves and sometimes as high as 10 metres up into the air.

"The beauty of the sport is the freedom. It's complete escape," says Hockley, who's 28.

Most kitesurfers are daredevils. Many are also world travellers. Since kitesurfing (it's also known as kiteboarding) took off in the late 1990s, kitesurfing "villages" have sprung up around the world - in locations as far-flung as Squamish, B.C.; Hatteras Island, N.C.; and Kom Phangan, Thailand. Even non-daredevils have begun trying out the sport.

Hockley, who teaches kitesurfing, is based at The Kenyaway, a kitesurfing village on Galu Beach. Though he has kitesurfed in Egypt, Spain, Brazil and Australia, for him, nothing beats home.

At low tide, the beach extends to 150 metres, the water is warm (during Kenyan winter, the average water temperature is 25C to 27C) and the winds generally blow in toward shore, which is handy if you take a spill and don't want to drift out to sea.

In North America, a beach as big and beautiful as Diani would be wall-to-wall beach towels and umbrellas. But Diani is relatively empty. That may be, says Boris Polo, owner of H20 Extreme, the kitesurfing school where Hockley works, because many Kenyans don't know how to swim. "They use the water for work, for example, for fishing. We get very few Kenyan customers," he said.

Joey Kennaway and her daughter, Linzi, own The Kenyaway, where H2O Extreme has a base. Born in Ireland, Joey Kennaway has lived in Kenya since she was 3. The cozy rambling Kenyaway resort started as a shack built by Joey's husband, Tony. As the shack grew, the couple began renting out cottages on their property to holiday tenants. Linzi, who got hooked on kitesurfing after Polo gave her lessons, came up with the idea of opening a kitesurfing village. Though the senior Kennaways have not tried kitesurfing, they do enjoy watching others doing it. "One night, it was a full moon and there were seven kiters out," said Joey Kennaway.

People have been experimenting with using kites to propel vehicles both on land and in water since the 1800s. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, French brothers Bruno and Dominique Legaignoux began developing kitesurfing kites. Made of nylon, the inflatable kites float in water and can be re-launched after a spill.

"Kitesurfing is not for your average country-club tennis player," says Polo. He should know. A former competitive tennis player, tennis never gave him the adrenalin rush he gets from kitesurfing. Polo estimates he's kitesurfed 250 days in the last year.

Polo opened his kitesurfing school in 2003. He and his team have taught the sport to more than 3,000 people. Most customers are in their 20s, but some are kids and others, seniors. Polo says that though kitesurfing is easier to learn than conventional wave surfing - novice wave surfers need to do a lot of paddling as they struggle to get from lying down to standing up - proper training is essential. His three-day course costs about $400.

"What's hard to master is the kite. They're very powerful," Polo explains. Day 1 is devoted to learning to fly the kite. On Day 2, students do safety exercises in the water, learning how to re-launch a fallen kite, pack up emergency equipment and swim back to shore. Day 3 is spent on board work.

Novice kitesurfers tend to do a lot of dipping in and out of the water.

Hockley says women make better kitesurfing students than men. "They've got a lighter touch and they're just a little more timid. They listen and learn faster."

Anna Elleke, 18, is a model pupil. Elleke, who lives in Munich, is visiting her grandmother who has a cottage in nearby Tiwi. "My cucu (grandmother) gave me kitesurfing lessons as a graduation present," Elleke says.

Kitesurfing works the whole body, especially the core. A sore neck and shoulders - caused by looking up at the kite - are standard after a day kitesurfing.

A Tusker (Kenya's signature beer has an elephant on its logo) at The Kenyaway's beachfront bar might help. If not, the bar also has a massage menu. Included there is something called the Lost Kite Massage.

Some travellers are daredevils. Some contemplate the daredevil life.

Others are content to lie on the beach with a good book. But after a few pages, it's a special pleasure to look up in the air and watch the huge kites billowing against the deep blue sky.

This St. Antoine sur Richelieu kitesurfing school offers lessons on site and at Venise en Québec. A complete kitesurfing course here involves six to 10 hours of training and ranges in price from $500 to $700.

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